A seat at the table

A touch of pink in a village restaurant high in the Himalayas, Nepal.

 

The people of Libya, Egypt, Syria and Tunisia have many things in common, chief among them the desire for freedom - something many of us take for granted. They want reforms including free and fair elections and better employment opportunities. They want choices that are not dependent upon tribal ties, social class or inherited wealth.

All they want is a seat at the table - a chance to participate in their own lives; to make decisions without constantly being dictated how they must live and what repressive restrictions they must accept.

We've watched dramatic bids for freedom in Tunisia and in Egypt and now unfolding in Libya. Syria remains a dangerous flashpoint, where Bashar al-Assad loyalists continue to attack, jail or murder peaceful citizens who dare to dissent.

As Syrian political cartoonist and opposition activist Ali Ferzat said in an Associated Press interview (before being beaten and having his hands broken by government thugs): "There are two things in this life that cannot be crushed: the will of God and the will of the people."

Update: Izz al-Arab Matar, a 22-year-old university student, was killed Tuesday at Bab al-Aziziya. His cousin, London-based writer Hisham Matar wrote in today's Guardian about his loss: The short life and cruel death of Libyan freedom fighter Izz al-Arab Matar.

Comments

[Karen@PasGrande-Chose]

Hisham Matar's piece is very moving and a reminder of the extraordinary courage being shown in these countries by ordinary folk demonstrating the will of the people, as you say.

[Kim]

Ditto the above. Hi Tara... I haven't commented here in a long time but am glad to see you're still writing your blog. My husband and I often comment on what's happened/is happening in the middle east and we ask the same question... could we? would we? Dictatorships fail when people lose their fear. There's nothing they can do anymore and the tide turns. Such courage. I don't even know if I could commit to the Tar Sands protests and being arrested for even a day.

[Mary H.]

I cannot image having the courage to follow a conviction as this young man, and many others, have. Every day in the USA we take our liberties for granted. I have friends here who do not vote in elections. You do realize, do you not, I have asked them, that people in other parts of the world die for the right to vote in an election that will affect their future. Their apathy is something I cannot understand. God bless this young man and his com patriots,their families and friends. I wish peace to all and a resolution to the conflict.